Officials, faculty, students and visitors gathered to see the signing of a lease agreement that each year will bring UW-River Falls the newest models of Case equipment. From left to right are: Manager of Value Implement in Osseo Jeff Rohrscheib, UW-River Falls Chancellor Dean Van Galen, Manager of Government Sales for Case Patricia Lardie, and the Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science (CAFES) Dale Gallenberg.
-- Photos by Debbie Griffin

An excited crowd pushed into the UW-River Falls Agricultural Engineering Annex Dec. 2 to mark the signing of a department-changing agreement.

The 10-year lease binds together UWRF, Racine-based farming-equipment manufacturer Case IH, and Value Implement of Osseo and Menomonie, which plans to open a dealership in Ellsworth. The deal brings to campus the newest Case brand equipment for students to use at lab farms.

Students are responsible for staying within the agreement’s usage limits, and for cleaning and maintaining the tractors, tillers, combines, planters and other tools.

Each year, Case replaces the equipment with new machines.

Case’s manager of government sales, Patricia Lardie, addressed the crowd and said the deal evolved from a small group of colleagues asking, “What if?” She called the agreement a deal also involving the entire region’s farm community.

“Hopefully, we will all gain and learn a lot,” said Lardie.

Dale Gallenberg, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, said, “This is the kind of day a lot of us work for.”

UWRF Chancellor Dean Van Galen recognized students’ role in the deal, called the lease a “good investment” and said, “This benefits much more than our lab farm.”